Decorative moldings and trim strips are commonly used on many wood and wood simulated surfaces to enhance the attractiveness, decorative value or the artistic effectiveness of finished surfaces of wood bodies and other surfaces simulating finished wood such as wood furniture or frames for holding pictures or documents for wall mounting. Typically, such moldings are fitted within a groove generally on a broad flat surface so that the molding will give the appearance of having been carved out of the original wood or simulated wood body.
Decorative moldings have also been applied to surfaces of various types of composite slabs such as wall panels and doors. Moldings of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,431. Such molding is added to provide a decorative appearance to the visible surface of the composite material. Such moldings are also fitted into grooves formed in the composite slab which has a front surface of veneer laminated to a solid core. The molding has a base portion which fits into the groove and a flange portion which extends to each side of the base portion for overlapping and covering the veneer along the grooved upper edges. Through the use of this type molding, the exposed grooved edges can be blended in with the decorative molding without exposing any dissimilar door core material or chipped veneer portions along the grooved edges.
Decorative trim strips have also been used on the surfaces of desks, cabinets and other types of enclosures which serve as equipment housings for electronic devices to exhibit manufacturers or retailers trademarks, logos or names on a visible surface of such equipment. Such a trim strip is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,237. As resellers and alternate users transfer the equipment from one to the other, the trim strip exhibiting the prior name or logo is often removed and replaced with the name or logo of the new owner. To facilitate the simple removal of the old trim strip and reinsertion of the new trim strip, an elongated trim strip holder for receiving a removable trim strip has been used. The trim strip holder is attached to the surface of the equipment and a generally flat elongated flexible trim strip can be inserted within a channel on the surface of the trim strip holder. The trim strip is held in place by the edges thereof being received in recesses in the parallel walls of the channel and the bottom surface of the trim strip having contact with the upper surface of the ridge.
When wall paneling is placed edge to edge on a wall, a crack can be formed at the joint where the edges of the two sheets of paneling meet. In the mobile home business wherein walls are commonly constructed of sheets of wood paneling, such joints are generally covered by decorative trim strips which run the length of the joints. Typically, the trim strip is made of a solid material designed to match the appearance of the adjacent wood paneling. The strip is secured over the joint by staples or tacks. Such trim strips must be carefully matched to the surrounding paneling and care must also be given to avoid unsightly damage to the strip in the process of attaching it to the joint. Strips which are damaged during installation must be either repaired or replaced before the premises can be sold.
In the mobile home industry and mobile office trailer industry, such trim strips are applied as part of mass production of the mobile housing and office units. Since the removal or repair of such strips can add to the time and cost of production of the mobile units, the hereinafter described embodiments of this invention provide a trim strip apparatus which allows for quick installation of a trim strip and quick and easy reinstallation of any damaged trim strip.